[2][3] The original mosque had a square layout and many entrances, and was built alongside a governor's palace (Dar al-Imāra).

[5] In 670, the governor of the city, Ziyad ibn Abihi, arranged for the mosque to be rebuilt in brick and expanded into a much more monumental form.

[7] The golden dome standing today over the tombs, as well as the surrounding tilework decoration, was added during the Safavid period in the 17th and 18th centuries.

[8] Today, the outer wall of the mosque, with semi-circular buttresses, probably still dates from the early period of the building's history.

[11] It has semi-circular bastions along its outer walls, three circular (three-quarter-round) towers at its corners, and historically had one minaret, according to investigations of the site in the 20th century.

The remains of the palace are still visible today but are not generally accessible and are threatened by underground water seeping into the site.

[11] The inner enclosure, which was accessed via a main entrance on its north side, was filled with rooms and structures that were modified in several periods.

Its main features included a central square courtyard from which a triple-arched entrance on each side led to other rooms.

[11] The entrance on the south side led to a quadrangular hall with an iwan-like or basilical layout divided by columns into three aisles.

[11][4] The Great Mosque of Kufa was the place where Ali ibn Abi Talib was fatally wounded by a poison-coated sword while prostrating in the Fajr prayer.

"[22] Lastly, according to Shia belief, it is from this mosque that the messianic twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, will rule the world, and it will serve as the seat of his power in the end of times.